Paper dispenser



Oct. 29, 1968 RASMUSSEN 3,408,125

PAPER DISPENSER Filed Oct. 10, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HOLGERRASMUSSEN ATTORNEYS Oct. 29, 1968 H. RASMUSSEN 3,408,125

PAPER DISPENSER Filed Oct. 10, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 w I m All 6 g a S QQ L!- INVENTOR HOLGER RASMUSSEN BY M Get. 29, 1968 H. RASMUSSEN PAPER DISPENSER 6 SheetsSheet 5 Filed Oct. 10, 1966 INVENTOR HOLGER RASMUSSEN BY7 MM Oct. 29, 1968 H. RASMUSSEN PAPER DISPENSER 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledOct. 10, 1966 I NVENTOR HOLGER RASMUSSEN BY M PAPER DI SPENSER 6Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 10. 1966 INVENTOR HOLGER RASMUSSEN Oct. 29,1968 H. RASMUSSEN PAPER DI SPENSER 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 10, 1966INVENTOR HOLGER RASMUSSEN United States Patent 3,408,125 PAPER DISPENSERHolger Rasmussen, Lausanne, Switzerland, assignor to Steiner CompanyLausanne S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland FiledOct. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 585,416 Claims. (Cl. 312-39) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE There is disclosed a paper towel dispenser of the characterwherein the user grips and pulls an exposed leading end of the paper toextract paper from the dispenser, a stop mechanism automaticallystopping outward movement of the paper after a predetermined lengththereof has been withdrawn, timing mechanism actuated by the stopmechanism positively to prevent dispensing of the paper for apredetermined time interval, an internal feed mechanism for advancingthe paper at the end of the predetermined time interval so as to projectthe leading end of the paper out of the dispenser, and a manuallyoperable mechanism for dispensing paper from the dispenser if there isno free end extending outwardly therefrom.

The present invention relates to paper towel dispensers and, moreparticularly, to improvements in paper towel dispensers of the kindwherein the paper is dispensed from a roll thereof contained within thecabinet of the dispenser.

The dispenser of the present invention is characterized by the fact thatthe user of the dispenser, in its normal operation, grips and pulls onan exposed leading end of the paper in order to extract paper towelingfrom the cabinet. When a predetermined length of toweling has beenwithdrawn from the cabinet, a stop mechanism automatically stops theoutward movement of the toweling and simultaneously initiates thefunctioning of a timing mechanism. Normally, the user of the dispensertears off the withdrawn length of toweling at this time and dries hishands. Subsequently, the timing mechanism times out, releasing the stopmechanism, whereupon an internal feed mechanism advances the paper so asto project from the cabinet the leading end of the paper web, thisleading end thereby being made available to be gripped by the next userpreparatory to withdrawal of a further length of toweling.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide apaper dispenser of the above-described kind having a highly-improvedstop mechanism embodied therein, said stop mechanism being inexpensiveto construct but being extremely durable and reliable in use.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide in saiddispenser an improved feed mechanism for feeding out a short length ofthe toweling after the timing out of the timing mechanism.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide in the dispenserimproved means for insuring that the paper is securely held inengagement with certain measuring rolls.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a towel dispensingcabinet of the character described, improved means for manuallyadvancing the measuring rolls, and thus manually advancing the paper, tobring to an exposed position the leading end of the paper.

These and other objects of the present invention, together with itsnumerous advantages, will be apparent from the following description ofa preferred embodiment thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a paper dispenser embodying theinvention, the dispenser being shown mounted on a vertical wall;

Patented Oct. 29, 1968 ice FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of thedispenser taken substantially along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1, showing thefront cover of the dispenser removed and certain other parts cut away;

FIG. 2a is a detailed view taken substantially along the line 2a2a inFIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the dispenser taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3a is a fragmentary elevational view of the stop mechanism embodiedin the cabinet and illustrated in the lower portion of FIG. 3, theapparatus being illustrated in FIG. 3a in the position it occupies afterthe dispensing of paper has been initiated and the stop action of thestop mechanism is about to take place;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the stop mechanism of FIG. 3a, FIG.4 being taken substantially along the line 44 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the dispenser takensubstantially along the line 66 in FIG. 2, the end of the dispenserillustrated in FIG. 6 being opposite the end shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6a is a diagrammatic illustration of the position of the crankforming a part of the mechanism automatically to dispense paper afterthe stop mechanism has timed out; and

FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6, but showing the feedafter-timing mechanismin a different position than that shown in FIG. 6.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, it will be observed that thepresent dispenser is comprised of a cover 1 suitably carried upon anL-shaped base plate 2, the lat ter of which may be secured to a verticalwall. The upstanding base plate 2 has fixed thereon aforwardly anddownwardly curved metal sheet 3 upon which rests a roll of papertoweling 4, the roll 4 being rotatably mounted at its opposite ends onpins 5a and 6a respectively formed on discs 5 and 6, said discs beingcarried on a U-shaped support 7 pivotally secured to the upstanding baseplate 2 by means of brackets 7a and 7b.

The forwardly and downwardly curved metal plate 3 partially supports theroll 4 of paper toweling and also serves as a brake therefor, thereby toprevent any uncontrolled unrolling or withdrawal of paper from the roll.Below the roll 4 there is a pair of spaced-apart upstand- 1ng supports8a and 8b (FIG. 2) mounted upon the horizontal portion of the base plate2, these supports 8a and 8b rotatably having mounted therein ahorizontal shaft 8. The shaft 8, in turn, has fixed thereto a pair ofrela tively-large rollers 9a and 9b having their respective surfacesknurled or the like. The rollers 9a and 9b may be formed of hard rubber,or plastic or the like. Each of the rollers 9a and 9b is provided with aco-operating smaller pressure roller, the two pressure rollers beingdesignated in the drawings as 10a and 10b. The pressure rollers aremounted on a common shaft 10 which rides in upstanding finger-likebrackets formed on the front side of a metal apron 11. The metal apron11 has a pair of openings 11a formed therein through which the rollers10a and 10b extend rearwardly and into contact, respectively, with thelarge rollers 9a and 9b when no paper toweling is disposed therebetween.The apron 11 has a pair of rearwardly-extending ears formed on itsopposite ends which are pivotally mounted upon a pair of rivets 12 (FIG.3) which are provided in upstanding flanges formed upon the oppositeends of the horizontal portion of the base plate 2, these rivets 12serving not only for the mounting of the apron 11, but also servingpivotally to secure the cover 1 upon the base plate 2.

The side walls of the cover 1, at the opposite ends of the dispenser,are provided with inwardly-directed ears 1a which, when the cover 1 isclosed, engage and press rearwardly on the upper-end portions of theapron 11, there by tending to move the apron 11 rearwardly about therivets 12 firmly to press the pressure rollers a and 10b against thelarger rollers 9a and 9b or against the paper toweling disposedtherebetween, as the case may be. It will thus correspondingly be seenthat, when the cover 1 is opened, the apron 11 may be pivoted forwardlyto separate the pressure rollers 10a and 10b from the larger rollers 9aand 91;, thereby to permit easy feeding of the leading end of a freshpaper roll 4 between the pressure rollers 10a and 10b and the rollers 9aand 9b when a new roll of paper is being installed in the cabinet.

The paper toweling, as will be seen in the drawings, is fed downwardlybetween the rollers 9a and 9b and the pressure rollers 10a and 10b andthence downwardly and outwardly through a slot which is provided betweenthe lowermost end of the apron 11 and the upturned forward edge 2a ofthe base plate 2 (see FIG. 6). The paper fed through the slot may beseparated from the roll by tearing the same across the horizontal loweredge 110 of the apron 11, which edge may be toothed or serrated.

In order to avoid excessive consumption of paper toweling, the dispenseris provided with a stop which 0perates during each dispensing operationto stop the feed out of paper when a predetermined length of paper hasbeen dispensed. Following a-predetermined time interval thereafter, afeed-after-timing mechanism automatically advances the paper a shortdistance so as to project from the slot adjacent the lower end 110 ofthe apron 11 the leading end of the paper toweling which may be grippedby the user preparatory to the making of another dispensing operation.

With respect to the stop mechanism, the right end of the shaft 8, asviewed in FIG. 2, has fixed thereon an arm 16 having formed at its outerend a flat transverse stop surface 16a. When the leading end 4a of thepaper towel (see FIG. 3) is gripped by the user and pulled downwardly,the rollers 9a and 9b and the shaft 8, as well as the stop arm 16, arerotated in the direction of the arrow Fl (FIG. 3). This rotation of thestop arm 16 brings the stop member 16a into camming contact with adiagonal flange 17a formed on the back side of an arm 17, the latter ofwhich is pivotally mounted at 18. The engagement of the stop member 16awith the flange 17a pivots the arm 17 in a counterclockwise direction.as viewed in FIG. 3, thereby to raise the right-hand portion of the arm17 against the force of a retaining spring 19 which tends constantly tourge the lever 17 in a clockwise direction. The raising of theright-hand end of the arm 17 causes a suction cup 20 mounted thereon tobe raised into pressed engagement with another suction cup 21 which ismounted by a suitable bracket 22 upon the base plate of the dispenser.The upper suction cup 21 is provided with a valve 23 having anadjustable core 24 which may be controlled by the turning of anadjustment screw 25, so as to control the rate at which air would beadmitted into the interior of the two suction cups through the valve 23.Once the lower cup has been engaged to press upwardly against the upwardsuction cup, the two suction cups will adhere to each other, and thuskeep the arm 17 in its rotated position, until sufficient air is bledinto the space between the cups, thereby to permit the cups to separateand to permit the arm 17 to be restored to its initial position shown inFIG. 3. This action of the suction cups serves to provide apredetermined time interval. As the rotation of the arm 16 and the stopmember 16 produce engagement with the flange 17a of the lever 17, andthus cause pivotation of the arm 17 and the engagement between thesuction cups, the lowering of the left or forward end of the arm 17brings into blocking position an inwardly-directed stop member 17bformed on the back side of the lever 17. Thus, immediately after thestop surface 16a cams downwardly the left end of the lever 17, the stopmember 16a engages the stop member 17b, thereby to halt the dispensingof the paper towel. When this stop condition has been reached, thepredetermined time interval will have been simultaneously initiated asdescribed above. During the time interval and after the stop conditionhas been reached, the user normally will tear off the extracted towelingalong the lower edge of the apron 11.

The left end of the shaft 8, as viewed in FIG. 2, has fixed thereon alever 13 having on its outer end a roller 13a or the like whichco-operates with a leaf 14a of a spring 14. The spring 14 is disposedabout a fixed support 15, with the other end 14b of the spring abuttingthe base plate 2. In the position I of the lever 13 illustrated in FIG.6 and shown in solid lines in FIG. 6a, the spring leaf 14a is released.It will be tensioned or compressed, however, by rotary movement of therollers 9a in the direction Fl through an angle W (FIG. 6a) as paper iswithdrawn from the dispenser in the manner described above. When thelever 13 reaches the position II illustrated in FIG. 6a, the springcompression reaches its maximum value. Slightly further rotation of thelever 13 brings the lever to the position designated III in FIG. 6a,wherein the roller or nose of the lever 13 arrives in the base of thedog leg or bent portion of the spring, as shown in FIG. 7. This latterposition of the lever 13 corresponds to the stop position wherein thepreviously-mentioned stop member 16a comes into contact with the stopmember 17b.

When the previously-described suction cups 20 and 21 time out andseparate, the spring 19 immediately pivots the lever 17 in a clockwisedirection, lowering the right end of the lever 17 (as viewed in FIG. 3)and raising the left end thereof. The raising of the left end of thelever 17 raises the stop member 17b out of the path of the stop member16a, whereupon the stored energy in the spring 1411 substantiallyinstaneously advances the lever 13 from the position thereof shown inFIG. 7 to the position thereof illustrated in FIG. 6. This advancingaction rotates the shaft 8 and the rollers 9a and 9b through the angle 1shown in FIG. 6a, thereby advancing the paper toweling and causing theforwardmost end thereof to project downwardly from the bottom of thedispenser. The exposed forward end of the toweling may thus be againgripped by a user preparatory to another dispensing operation.

The time interval between the stopping of the dispensing of the papertoweling and the subsequent separation of the vacuum cups 20 and 21 maybe selectively varied by the adjustment of the screw 25. The screw 25,as shown, may be threaded in the upper flange of its mounting bracket22, so that turning of the screw 25 will raise or lower the needle valve24, thereby to vary the rate at which air will be bled into the spacebetween the suction cups.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that paper dispensers fordispensing various lengths of paper toweling may be produced inaccordance with the present invention with only minor change in parts.For example, merely by selecting guide rollers 9a and 9b of variousdiameters and by changing the position of the ears 1a, any selectedlength of paper toweling, within reasonable limits, may be dispensed.

In order to manually advance the paper to an exposed position when thecabinet is first filled or when, for one reason or another, the leadingend of the paper has been torn off or is otherwise not available forwithdrawal of the paper toweling, the present dispenser is provided witha latchwork which allows a manual operation of the rollers 9a and 9b.This latchwork is comprised of a pivotal yoke 26 on a transverse member27 (see FIG. 2), with the free end of the yoke bent into a pawl 26a andarranged to mesh with the knurled surface of the roller 91). The forwardside of the yoke 26 is provided with a push button 28 which may bepressed in the direction designated by the arrow 0 in FIG. 3a. Thepressing of the finger button 28 tilts the yoke 26 from the solid-lineposition thereof seen in FIG. 3a to the broken-line position wherein theinner end 26a contacts the surface of the roller 9!). The transversemember 27 upon which the yoke 26 is pivotally mounted is supportedbetween two parallel L-shaped levers 29a and 2917 which are disposed onopposite sides of the roller 9b. Each of the levers 29a and 29b isprovided with a recess 29c (FIG. 5) the diameter of which correspondsapproximately to that of the shaft 8 and the circumference of which isapproximately three-quarters of the circumference of the shaft. Thelevers 29a and 29b ride freely on the shaft 8 on the inner surfaces ofthe recesses 29c, and one of the levers 29a or 29b is provided with areturn spring 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the return spring 30 is attachedat one of its ends to lever 29b, and its other end is suitably attachedto the housing of the cabinet or to any suitable part of the base plate2. The return spring 30 tends to pivot the levers 29a and 29b in theclockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 5), thereby to tend always toreturn the yoke 26 to its nonworking position.

The operation of the latchwork described above is best illustrated inFIGS. 3, 3a and 5 of the drawings wherein it will be seen that if a userpushes inwardly upon the finger button 28, the yoke 26 pivots from thesolid line position in FIG. 3a to the dashed line position illustratedtherein, thus moving the pawl 26a into engagement with the roller 9b.Continued or additional rotary motion of the parts in the direction ofthe arrow 0 in FIG. 311 under the urging of the users finger will causethe roller 9b to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, i.e., inthe direction of the arrow Fl in FIGS. 3 and 3a so as to feed the papertoweling 4 in the usual dispensing direction. After the latchworkincluding the yoke 26 and the levers 29a-29b has been pivoted in thedirection of the arrow 0 as far as they can be moved against the actionof the spring 30, the user releases his finger from the pushbutton 28thus permitting the spring 30 to return the parts to the positionillustrated by solid lines in FIG. 3a. The manual dispensing operationcan then be repeated, and in fact may be repeated as many times asrequired to provide a satisfactory length of paper toweling 4 extendingthrough the dispensing slot.

The dispenser as described above is comprised of a combination ofeasily-produced parts, and its assembly and use require substantially nohighly-trained personnel. The dispenser may be mass produced, withoutspecial costs, and the production thereof is accordingly profitable.Because of the simplicity of the design of the dispenser, very littlemaintenance is required, and such maintenance as may be necessary may besupplied by relativelyuntrained personnel.

I claim:

1. A dispenser for dispensing paper from a roll thereof, comprising: acabinet having a cover hingedly mounted thereon; a guide roller mountedin said cabinet and contacted by the paper and rotated thereby as thepaper is withdrawn from the dispenser; an arm mounted on said roller andhaving a first stop surface thereon; a movable lever pivotally mountedon said cabinet and having a second stop surface thereon, said leverhaving a displaced position wherein said second stop surface is in thepath of said first stop surface and a normal position wherein saidsecond stop surface is out of the path of said first stop surface; a camsurface on said lever engaged by said arm during the rotation thereoffor moving said lever from its normal position to its displaced positionafter which said first stop surface engages said second stop surfacethereby to halt rotation of said guide roller and the withdrawal ofpaper from said dispenser;

means for maintaining said lever in the displaced position thereof for apredetermined time interval; a mounting member hingedly mounted uponsaid cabinet and being disposed adjacent to said guide roller; apressure roller mounted on said mounting member adjacent to said guideroller for pressing paper therebetween; and a bearing member mountedupon said cover and movable into engagement with said mounting memberwhen said cover is closed, thereby forcefully to press said pressureroller toward said guide roller and to pinch the paper therebetween.

2. The dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting member isan apron having a lower edge defining in part a paper discharge openingfrom said cabinet, said lower edge being serrated to permit the paper tobe torn thereacross.

3. A dispenser for dispensing paper from a roll thereof, comprising: acabinet; a guide roller mounted in said cabinet and contacted by thepaper and rotated thereby as the paper is withdrawn from the dispenser;an arm rotated by the rotation of said roller, said arm having a firststop surface thereon; a movable lever pivotally mounted on said cabinetand having a second stop surface thereon, said lever having a displacedposition wherein said second stop surface is in the path of said firststop surface and a normal position wherein said second stop surface isout of the path of said first stop surface; means on said lever engagedby said arm during the rotation thereof for moving said lever from itsnormal position to its displaced position, whereby said first stopsurface engages said second stop surface and thereby halts rotation ofsaid guide roller and the withdrawal of paper from the dispenser; meansfor maintaining said lever in the displaced position thereof for apredetermined time interval; a finger operated pawl disposed outside ofsaid cabinet and in a position adapted to engage the peripheral surfaceof said guide roller; and means mounting said pawl for movement aboutthe axis of said roller, engagement of said pawl by the finger of a userserving first to' move said pawl into engagement with the surface ofsaid guide roller and further movement of said finger operated pawlserving to pivot it about the axis of said guide roller to cause saidpawl to advance said guide roller and the paper to cause dispensing ofthe paper from the dispenser.

4. The dispenser set forth in claim 3, wherein said means mounting saidpawl is a lever journalled on the same axis as said guide roller, saidpawl being pivotally mounted on said levers and pivotal from a normalposition wherein said pawl is spaced from the surface of said guideroller to a position wherein said pawl engages said guide roller.

5. The dispenser set forth in claim 3, and further comprising resilientmeans interconnecting said cabinet and said pawl to return said pawl toits normal position out of engagement with said guide roller uponrelease thereof by the user.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,243,686 5/1941 Steiner et al31239 XR 2,273,384 2/ 1942 Steiner et al 3l239 XR 2,320,453 6/1943 Birr31238 2,369,851 2/1945 Price et al. 3l239 XR 2,601,956 7/1952 Birr242-55.53 2,849,269 8/1958 ZizZi 31239 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

J. L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner.

